April 24 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea doesn’t appear to be
getting ready to conduct a nuclear test, a U.S. defense
spokesman said, after the totalitarian state threatened to
reduce the South Korean government “to ashes.”

“I’m not aware of any specific actions taken to bolster
the rhetoric,” Navy Capt. John Kirby told reporters yesterday
at the Pentagon. China, North Korea’s closest ally, today
expressed “deep concern” over the latest developments on the
Korean peninsula and called for calm.

Kirby’s comments came hours after North Korea said a
special action squad will turn South Korean President Lee Myung
Bak and his government “to ashes in three or four minutes”
using “unprecedented peculiar means and methods,” according to
a statement on the official Korean Central News Agency. South
Korean defense shares ended mixed after rising yesterday.

While North Korea often issues threats of war, the regime
has heightened its rhetoric against Lee this month in marking
the centennial of state founder Kim Il Sung. A rocket fired
April 13 as a highlight of the celebrations disintegrated after
liftoff, prompting speculation new leader Kim Jong Un will
detonate an atomic device to regain face.

Alert Levels

South Korea’s military hasn’t raised alert levels as no
special North Korean troop movements were sighted, Joint Chiefs
of Staff spokesman Lee Bung Woo told reporters today in Seoul.
Lee’s office had no comment, spokeswoman Lee Mi Yon said. North
Korea has twice detonated nuclear devices, once in 2006 and
again in 2009.

“Kim Jong Un is trying to gain confidence as leader by
showcasing the country’s military might,” said Baek Seung Joo,
a military specialist at the Korea Institute for Defense
Analyses in Seoul. “Ultimately he’s trying tell the world that
it is Pyongyang that controls the situation on the Korean
peninsula, not the U.S. or South Korea.”

Broke Agreement

North Korea broke off an agreement to halt testing of
nuclear devices and long-range missiles after the U.S. canceled
food-assistance in response to the botched launch. North Korea
is “free” to take “necessary retaliatory measures,” its
Foreign Ministry said, according to an April 18 KCNA statement.

“We have taken note of the latest development of the
situation on the Korean peninsula in recent days and expressed
our deep concern,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu
Weimin told reporters today in Beijing in response to a question
about North Korea’s threat yesterday. “We urge parties
concerned to stay calm and exercise restraint.”

Chinese President Hu Jintao met yesterday with North Korean
Workers’ Party senior official Kim Yong Il and pledged to
maintain close ties between the two governments, China Central
Television said today.

A third nuclear test may happen soon, Reuters reported,
citing an unidentified source with ties to North Korea and
China. South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min Seok said
no new activity has been sighted at North Korea’s Punggye-ri
nuclear testing site since the preparations noted in an April 9
intelligence report.

New Cruise Missile

South Korea responded last week by unveiling a new cruise
missile and a ballistic missile that it said could hit anywhere
in the North. The military has deployed the missiles and wants
to ensure it can respond to North Korean provocations, Defense
Ministry spokesman Kim Min Seok said April 19.

Lee said the same day South Korea needs “powerful weapons,
a strong mindset and the newest weapons that can overpower North
Korea.”

North Korea’s arsenal includes SCUD, Rodong and Musudan
missiles. The Musudan has a range of more than 3,000 kilometers
(1,865 miles) and can carry a 650-kilogram warhead, according to
South Korean estimates. The country is trying to develop
missiles with a range of 6,700 kilometers that may eventually be
able to carry warheads weighing as much as 1,000 kilograms,
according to U.S. and South Korean estimates.